One of my clients is an early-stage tech company doing some important and industry-leading work in its field. They are currently hiring, and have openings for some pretty smart people. They are also competing with some well-known companies seeking similar talent — talent that is in-demand and relatively scarce even in the current market of 8 to 9 percent unemployment.<\/p>\n
They’re re-thinking the organization and messaging on the company’s website — including some very dry, boring, standard language that now exists on their “Careers” page.<\/p>\n
In a discussion with their HR person, who is looking to do a better job with that page, and their overall recruiting efforts, it came up that at least one of the area’s hot companies notes on its careers page that it offers employees “unlimited paid time off.” There is language that follows that suggests that this means “within reason” and as approved by the department\/manager.<\/p>\n
In further discussions with my client’s HR director, though, it became clear that this offer might help with recruitment; but in practice, it poses challenges for both the company and its employees. This was further confirmed when she met up and discussed the realities of unlimited PTO with an HR person from the company making that offer.<\/p>\n
The insider shared that, in reality, that policy leads to employees actually taking *less* time off that they might under different policies. Why? Several reasons.<\/p>\n
Primarily, because the vagueness of “unlimited (within reason)” leaves employees and their managers unclear on what is really acceptable. That leads employees to take fewer days, and different managers with different takes on what is reasonable.<\/p>\n
You can certainly understand the concern of employees, given the economic situation and the fact that there are lots of people seeking jobs, and lots of companies looking to keep costs down. Anyone not clearly indispensable to their organization is likely at risk, and anyone truly taking advantage of “unlimited” time off is perhaps calling undue attention to themselves. Some who take time may generate resentment among others who don’t, or who have managers who are not as free about approving time off.<\/p>\n
As a result, the firm is re-evaluating how it educates its managers on what is acceptable when it comes to time off, and looking at the policy as a whole to see if they might need to change it.<\/p>\n
Have you worked at a company that offers “unlimited paid time off?”<\/p>\n
Have you, as an employer, offered unlimited time off?<\/p>\n
Have you, as an HR person, managed a workplace with unlimited time off?<\/p>\n
What sorts of challenges did it present? What sort of policies helped to make the policy consistent and manageable for everyone?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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